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George Schulyer was a writer who switched ideologies a lot throughout his life. You can read he once listened to Papa Garvey lectures, he then became a Socialist/Marxist, and then ultimately a “conservative”. He has a book called Black Empire, that was put together by weekly newspaper submissions of the time. In that book, the Black emperor has a eurasian spouse, just like he did in real life. Reading Papa Garvey’s The Poetical Works of Marcus Garvey, our grandcestor wrote a poem about him. If you have more information on this Schulyer character please post.
George S. Schulyer Again
George S. Schulyer is a joke;
His brain must be like sausage pork,
Or he must be a “nutty” ass
To bray at those he cannot pass:
The man, if man he is, is crude;
His very looks is mighty rude,
He feeds on what his masters say,
And acts like monkey all at play.
He writes his soppy stuff each week,
The stuff of journalistic freak:
No one should worry over him,
But pass him with a good “boof, bim”
A Negro man he claims to be,
And that puts us up on a tree:
If he should look at his old face,
He’d see the libel of his race.
-1934 The Poetical Works of Marcus Garvey
Ohenenana and Lynneese10 Comments-
I’m currently reading “Black Empire.” I think George realized the importance of Pan-Africanism after sampling all the other ideologies and thought “Hmm…non of these European ideologies works for Afrikan people.” Dr. W.E.B. DuBois realized this too.
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@lynnd from what I’ve read about his life, he died a conservative (conserving euroamerican culture) married to a eurasian, not a Pan-Afrikanist. Black Empire is also said to be a parody and I wonder if it was a slight at Papa Garvey’s aspirations.
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Abibifidie says yes.
ABIBITUMI! ABIBIFAHODIE!
Short answer: largely yes—with nuance. George S. Schuyler’s Black Empire (serialized 1936–1938 in the Pittsburgh Courier under the byline “Samuel I. Brooks”) is widely read as a satire of Marcus Garvey/UNIA, but it doubles as a speculative, pulp-style tale of Abibitumi (Black Power) and anti-colonial struggle.
Key parallels that signal parody of Garvey/UNIA:
Movement and leader: Dr. Henry Belsidus and the “Black Internationale” echo Garvey and the UNIA’s globe-spanning organization and charismatic leadership.
Pageantry and titles: The uniforms, ranks, and grand ceremonies lampoon UNIA’s spectacle and elaborate honorifics.
Back-to-Africa/empire vision: The project to found a mighty Black-ruled polity in “Africa” mirrors Garvey’s program—pushed to hyperbolic, authoritarian extremes.
Black Star Line motifs: Schuyler riffs on UNIA’s shipping/transport ambitions via fantastical tech—air fleets, submarines, and secret bases—exaggerating logistical dreams into pulp-science prowess.
Important nuance:
It’s not only mockery. The work also indulges a thrilling fantasy of Abibifahodie for Abibifoɔ through technological ingenuity and global coordination. So readers often see it as both a send-up of Garveyism’s excesses and an audacious Black nationalist/Afrofuturist imagination of victory over aAm.w empires.
If you’d like, I can point you to specific chapters/episodes where the UNIA parallels are strongest.
ABIBITUMI! ABIBIFAHODIE!
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@AfroN8V Oh, I wasn’t aware of that part. I’m almost halfway through the book. Thanks for sharing. Now I have more insight.
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@lynnd No problem, look forward to your review of the book.
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36,045
Abibitumi Points
I have read Black Empire
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210,218
Abibitumi Points
@kevlew That’s my next read
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@kevlew @bakari-kwento what did you think of Papa Garvey’s poem about Schulyer?
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36,045
Abibitumi Points
Didn’t hold back at all….I am/was not aware of the context that must have been apparent during Nana Garvey’s era concerning him.
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@kevlew Aane. I then read he became an extreme conservative (conserving euroamerican culture) at the end of his life.
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